


Sprouted

by sukikobold



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Family, Female Frisk, Friendship, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Light Angst, Light Grim Fandango Crossover, Noire AU, Undertale AU, one shot sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 09:04:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5328482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sukikobold/pseuds/sukikobold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Papyrus was warned not to get too close to this case. When his own life hangs by a thread, will he be able to figure his way out of this? Or will he have to trust in the mysterious human he's only just met? Undertale Noire AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sprouted

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a one shot scene. I may continue to work on something with this AU idea, but if I do it will be on a separate work. This one will not be updated. Consider it a possible preview. Enjoy! :)

The shots rang out just as their running witness was about to reach the end of the alley. They came in such a barrage, there could have been anywhere from three to six. The witness was hit at least twice and fell onto his back. Papyrus might have caught up to see if he could be saved if not for the sudden pressure and pain in his own chest. His thoughts immediately went to the human, wondering if she had been hit as well. As he stepped to turn and check on her, his balance faltered and he fell against the wall. As he slid to the ground, he could see green sprouts beginning to crawl out of the witness’s body.

“HELP!” he heard suddenly from the end of the alley, “HELP! MURDER!”

Papyrus tried to think. It was too late for the witness. It might even be too late for him, but…wait, the formula! Dr Alphys had given them a paper bag of powder she said might be able to slow or even stop the effects of sprouting. The human was carrying it now.

“Human, you have to-” He looked up, expecting to find the child staring at him with her usual placidity, but she wasn’t there. The alley was empty except for him and the corpse. Did she get scared and run off? Or maybe she was getting help. He remembered Alphys had given them details about preparing the formula. Something about water.

He decided to trust her. Rather than try to move or pursue wherever the shots had come from, Papyrus waited. The alley was still except for the tiny green stalks growing out of the witness and twisting through his own ribcage, millimeter by millimeter. They pierced into his bones and he convulsed in pain. A thought broke through his usual optimism. What if the human wasn’t coming back? Or what if she didn’t come back in time? Papyrus looked through his fingers that covered the bullet wound. The bulb of a golden-yellow flower was poking through, trying to bloom.

What would happen to the case? Would Undyne pick it up? She wouldn’t…she couldn’t let them convict Sans, could she? She had told Papyrus she didn’t believe he was guilty but…He, Papyrus, was the only one who had cared enough to pursue the case. Everyone else seemed content to let his brother take the bullet. Figuratively. And if Sans _was_ convicted, then…then what?

Papyrus could feel the petals brush against his hand as the blossom opened. He needed to get up. He reached up, trying to find a grip on the wall behind him. Nothing but brick. He could hear sirens sounding in the distance. That or the gunshots were still ringing in his ears. He dug his fingers into the mortar filled spaces and tried to pull himself up. The pain was agonizing. Any kind of movement was. When his shoulders felt as if they might break with the strain, he released and slid back to the ground.

Wait. That’s all he could do.

“PAPYRUS!” came a frantic, furious voice from down the alley. A set of footfalls was quickly closing in, but before he could even look up Undyne was kneeling in front of him.

“Oh my God…” She pushed his shoulders back to get a better look at his chest. It was now a miniature garden of sprouts and small flowers.

“H-hey, Undyne,” he managed.

“Shut up. Don’t waste your strength talking,” she ordered.

“How did you know?”

“A witness saw the shooting and called the station. Said one of the victims was a skeleton.” Her voice and expression softened a little as she examined the damage. “What did you get yourself into, Papyrus?”

He gave her a smile, though it came out more pained than he had wanted. Suddenly many more sets of footfalls followed Undyne’s path into the alley. She looked up at them, first with anger and impatience, then a softer understanding. She stood and stepped back just as Sans reached them.

“Bro?” His voice came out weak, and a set of handcuffs was still locked around his wrists. A small group of officers arrived after them, one particularly annoyed that the prisoner had been allowed to run ahead, but Papyrus barely noticed them.

“Sans,” he said.

Sans’s usual grin was gone and replaced with an expression so broken, Papyrus would have rather taken a dozen more bullets than let it stay. Before he could say anything more, Sans was on the ground in front of him, ripping and tearing away the flora that was covering his chest.

“Hey. HEY! Stop that!” yelled Undyne, stepping in and pulling him back. As Sans dropped what he had torn off, a stalk had already wound its way into the bones of his hand and begun growing. Undyne swore.

“Sans…it’s okay,” Papyrus told him, reaching out to hold the now infected hand. Sans looked up at him, tears staining his white cheeks. Then a look of realization passed over his face.

“Wasn’t…” He turned back to Undyne. “Wasn’t Alphys working on a formula to counteract sprouting?”

“Yeah, she was.” Undyne’s eyes fell back on Papyrus. “Didn’t she give it to you, Papyrus?”

“Yes,” he answered, “But the human-” He choked. The stalks had pierced up into his throat. Both Undyne and Sans shouted his name. The latter was grabbing his coat again, but this time securely, not violently. Not being able to think of anything else, Sans leaned into his brother’s shoulder, the closest he could get to an embrace with his hands bound. Papyrus wanted to say something reassuring or encouraging, but of course he couldn’t.

Suddenly the alley was filled with a jet of violently spraying liquid. The brothers were instantly soaked, and the force almost pulled Sans away, but he dug his feet in and pushed towards the wall, refusing to budge. Undyne turned away in time, taking most of the blast on her back. The liquid continued to flood over them for another ten seconds or so, and just as Undyne was about to heave a barrage of spears at the source of the spray, it shut off. Undyne waited another moment, then ripped off her heavy jacket and threw it to the ground.

“What _is_ this stuff?” she demanded. It wasn’t water. It was thick and had a green tinge as well as a sickening sour odor. Sans was beginning to loosen his grip when Papyrus looked up, the substance sliding off his skull like oil. The human was standing at the end of the alley, holding the dripping nozzle of a hose that led back and out into the street. She was breathing heavily, almost shaking.

“Papyrus,” said Sans as he pulled back. Papyrus looked down. The flowers blooming from his chest began to wilt, then to droop, then fall limp completely. Sans pulled at the sprout wound around his own hand. It slipped off easily and fell apart onto the cement.

“Is this…” Undyne kicked at her own thickly covered jacket. “The formula?”

The human swayed and fell back into a sitting position. She nodded. Behind her, a fireman came running in from the street.

“Did it work? Are they okay?” he asked before stopping short at the sight of Undyne and her men. “Oh…” he said timidly, his red-orange flames shrinking back within his uniform, “Hi there.”

“Hey,” said Undyne, “What did you do?”

The question was not directed to the fireman or the human specifically, but the fireman was the one to answer.

“Well ma’am, I uh, this kid here came up to me and asked to use my water. Er- not _my_ water, you know, the department’s water. A-anyway, she, uh, said she needed it to mix with this powdery stuff to save her friend’s life or something, and that sounded like a pretty big emergency to me so, uh, here we are.”

“How is it, Papyrus?” she asked him gently.

Papyrus was pulling limp, still dissolving pieces of plant from his shirt when he looked up.

“It still hurts,” he replied, “But just in the achy way. They've stopped growing and it doesn’t hurt to move anymore.”

“Good,” said Undyne, smiling fully for the first time that day, “Great, actually.”

“That was a close one, Bro,” sad Sans after a moment. He was looking down at the hand where the sprout had been, or maybe it was at his cuffs. “A few more minutes and you would have really been pushing up the daisies.”

“Sans, that’s not something to joke about,” said Papyrus with annoyance.

“I know,” answered Sans, his smile back but not entirely genuine.

“Easy Papyrus,” warned Undyne as he got to his feet, teetering a little. He reached down to pull Sans up as well.

“Now can we escort the suspect back to the station?” asked one of the officers. Many of the others were already examining the other victim. “We do have another murder here to investigate.”

“Yes,” answered Undyne, returning to her normal authoritative role as captain, “And Papyrus needs medical attention. You.” She pointed to the human. “Go with them, you’re a witness. And you.” She pointed to the fireman. “Bring your truck to the station. We’re going to need what’s left in that tank before this is over.”

Sans, Papyrus and the human were escorted to the police cabs parked on the street. Papyrus and Sans were stripped of what sopping and sour-smelling clothing could be removed before they were let in. Sans was led into a separate vehicle and when Papyrus began to object, assured his brother that he didn’t mind.

As he passed the human, he gave them a quick wink and said softly, “Thanks, Kid. You’re a miracle worker.”

Papyrus and the human were soon sitting in the back of one of the cabs, heading to the station. After a few minutes in silence, the human turned and asked him how he was feeling.

“Achy,” he said honestly, “But otherwise fine. Thank you.” After another pause he continued. “That was very smart of you; using the formula with a fire truck. Almost as smart as me.” The human looked down and her shoes that dangled above the floor of the car and smiled.


End file.
